Pivotal Analysis of the Readiness of Kirana Stores in the Light of the Emergence of Multi-Brand Retailing in Ranchi District

The very existence of unorganized retail sectors like the kirana stores in Tier II cities like Ranchi cannot be undermined, though their contribution to the domestic GDP may be very low. However the mushroom growth of the Multi Brand Retail has posed a serious threat to their existence. Thus in order to survive in such cut-throat competition they need to think strategically which requires a clear understanding of the needs of the market and the satisfaction of target consumers more effectively and more profitably than by their competitors. In the view of this perspective, this paper attempts to extend a conceptual understanding of the status of marketing mix (7 P.'s) in kirana stores and provide proposals to improve the conditions of such kirana stores. The objective of this research is to measure the effect of 7 P.'s of marketing mix of kirana stores on their business excellence. A sample of 150 kirana stores have been collected in the Ranchi area of Jharkhand and the theoretical framework has been drawn out and questionnaire was designed based on the factors chosen. Seven hypotheses were developed to see the effect of these factors that are affecting business success of the kirana stores in Ranchi market. The entire hypotheses were successfully tested with SPSS. The regression analysis result shows that the most significant factors affecting business success of the kirana stores in Ranchi market were the promotional efforts, followed by product and physical evidence.